Pokémon Black and White News

[SlowPokemon]

Meh, Slowpoke looks too jiggly and weird.

[Roz~]

Insert pictures

Old.

[Winter]

Sekter77 asked for them.

[Sekter77]

Yep. Thanks for finding those.
Whoever did that must have had a lot of patience. I believe all four generations are covered on the website. Do you think that the fifth gen will get its turn? I would love to see how dementedly awesome they'd turn out. It's like the "dark and gritty" version of pokemon.

[KefkaticFanatic]

I already posted them in the pictures topic :|

[Cobraroll]

Quite contrary to what I had thought beforehand, I actually quite like the legendaries of the fifth generation. First and foremost, they're not super-ancient powers fundamental to the existence of the universe. Like in the first generation, most of them are just incredibly rare and powerful Pokémon.

Genesect/Genosect can somewhat be compared to Mewtwo. An artificially modified ancient lifeform, though not to the same extent as its first generation cousin. And it looks really powerful too, though with a glaring Fire weakness.

I also think some of the new Pokémon will be quite interesting to see in competitive play. The chandelier one, for instance, has the highest non-legendary Sp. Atk in the game. I also expect great things from the Fire moth and Kibago's final evolution (sorry that I don't write the names out in full, but I don't bother learning the Japanese names).

However, not many old Pokémon have been substantially buffed. The dominators of the fourth generation are largely left untouched. The one that will benefit the most from the generation shift is Alakazam, with Magic Guard as its new toy. In the first few weeks of the metagame, you'll be hard pressed to find a Zam without a Life Orb.

I already look forward to Grey and the changes it will bring to the gameplay. However, at the moment I'm even more excited for the English names of all the newcomers.

[KefkaticFanatic]

Besides the genies, of course.

[Roz~]

Quite contrary to what I had thought beforehand, I actually quite like the legendaries of the fifth generation. First and foremost, they're not super-ancient powers fundamental to the existence of the universe. Like in the first generation, most of them are just incredibly rare and powerful Pokémon.

Genesect/Genosect can somewhat be compared to Mewtwo. An artificially modified ancient lifeform, though not to the same extent as its first generation cousin. And it looks really powerful too, though with a glaring Fire weakness.

I also think some of the new Pokémon will be quite interesting to see in competitive play. The chandelier one, for instance, has the highest non-legendary Sp. Atk in the game. I also expect great things from the Fire moth and Kibago's final evolution (sorry that I don't write the names out in full, but I don't bother learning the Japanese names).

However, not many old Pokémon have been substantially buffed. The dominators of the fourth generation are largely left untouched. The one that will benefit the most from the generation shift is Alakazam, with Magic Guard as its new toy. In the first few weeks of the metagame, you'll be hard pressed to find a Zam without a Life Orb.

I already look forward to Grey and the changes it will bring to the gameplay. However, at the moment I'm even more excited for the English names of all the newcomers.

Ninetales will also be used a lot more because of Drought. You say not many previous 'mons were buffed, but looking at all those new abilities and moves I can only say you're wrong. Shanderaa, Ononokusu w/ Mold Breaker and Urugamosu will probably be used a lot because they do look awesome (and broken). I'm looking forward to see what the metagame will look like. Probably going to be fast paced using a lot of sweepers, but we'll see.

[SlowPokemon]

Now, put a Dream World Ninetales in double battle with Dream World Venusaur. Not only are their types good coordinating, but their abilities are epic when put together.

[Jub3r7]

Do you think the dream world artwork will feature in a new TWG TCG set?

[DrP]

I envy you all having time to look up and play Pokémon and learn about the Dream World stuff... I am so excited about the weeks ahead (especially november... and not for election purposes!)... this is what happens when you have major classes to work in and then you work on your TRIPLE MINOR!!!

[Jub3r7]

Dang...

Good luck. May Arceus be with you... XD

[Cobraroll]

Ninetales will also be used a lot more because of Drought. You say not many previous 'mons were buffed, but looking at all those new abilities and moves I can only say you're wrong. Shanderaa, Ononokusu w/ Mold Breaker and Urugamosu will probably be used a lot because they do look awesome (and broken). I'm looking forward to see what the metagame will look like. Probably going to be fast paced using a lot of sweepers, but we'll see.

As for Ninetales, I think you are right. With all these new Bug- and Ice-types running around, most teams will need Fire support (plus a way (Clorophyll Grass) to take out all the pesky Rocks who also smack down Bugs and Ice like there's no tomorrow). Shandera will obviously benefit from this.

Ononokus will be a target for the aforementioned Ice types. Garchomp and Salamence will also hit it, and hard. Its defenses aren't exactly stellar, and 'Chomp 'n' 'Mence chew though anything that doesn't resist them. Both also outspeed Ononokus. However, where left unaccounted for, Ononokus will leave huge dents, possibly tearing down entire teams.

Ulgamoth (I'm using Bulbapedia's standard of spelling): Hits hard, but flees when faced with Rock types. Aerodactyl in particular will be the bane of it, resisting both of its STABs, its strongest non-STAB move, and outspeeding it comfortably. Tyranitar will also cause Ulgamoth to seek for exits, even though Flame Body may sting.

However, this trio will leave an impression on the metagame. What's left of defensive and stall teams will probably vanish. Generation IV started the trend of total offense, and Gen. V will keep this trend going. We've seen a lot more powerful offensive Pokémon this generation than ever before, even counting the fourth.

Also, another threat to be aware of: Doryuzu. 405 Attack and nearly 600 speed will leave an impression (yeah, Sand Paddle doubles its speed in a sandstorm). Sazandra also joins the lines of the Pseudo-legendaries, and is the first one of them to be primarily Special oriented.

I also think Smogon will have to enlarge the OU tier. That, or BL will be overly big and changing with every trend, seeing as OU is defined by the 50 most used Pokémon in the Standard metagame.

[Jub3r7]

I haven't played much in the metagame, but from what I've seen, you're absolutely right about the offense trend.
To tell you the truth, I haven't seen any teams focusing on defense at all...

[Cobraroll]

^That would be because they don't work anymore. At the moment, there is only one effective defensice Pokémon remaining: Blissey. The offensive Pokémon are now strong enough to break through almost anything that hasn't got a boost or two under its belt. Simply put, playing defensive can't win in the current metagame.